An Iranian official admitted that the country faces a serious doctor shortage in the country due to migration of doctors to other countries.

On June 30, Iraj Harirchi, Iran’s Deputy Minister of Health, said to the semi-official ISNA that the index of the number of general practitioners, specialist doctors and dentists is 1.6 per 1,000 people.

While the required minimum is 2.5 doctors per 1,000 people, and even many countries in the world have an index of 3.5 to 5 doctors per 1,000 people, Harirchi added.

"We are facing a shortage of physicians in the country," he said, adding, "Despite the training of the medical personnel, some of these people went abroad because of some considerations that we had in choosing the students and conditions they had. This is why we're faced with a serious shortage of doctors."

Iran under the rule of the mullahs' regime is suffering from brain drain. Every year, thousands of Iranian university graduates leave their country to find job and life opportunities abroad.

Meanwhile, those who stay in Iran often find themselves in situations where they can't find proper employment or are underpaid. In many cases, doctors and other medical staff protest to not having received their wages for several months. Unemployment and poor working conditions is one of the main causes of protests among university graduates.